Papapetrou shines in Greens' rout of Gran Canaria

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens dominated Herbalife Gran Canaria 102-87 on Thursday at Olympic Sports Center Athens for its second win in as many home games this season. After a hot start for the visitors, Ioannis Papapetrou came off the bench to lead a 15-2 Panathinaikos charge and the visitors never seriously threatened again. The outcome took the Greens' record to 2-1, while Gran Canaria fell to 1-2. Keith Langford and Lukas Lekavicius led the winners with 16 points apiece; Papapetrou amassed 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals; Nikos Pappas scored 13, DeShaun Thomas 12 and Nick Calathes ran the show with 9 assists and 3 steals. Marcus Eriksson made 5 of 8 three-pointers and was joined by Chris Evans with 15 points to lead Gran Canaria. Clevin Hannah added 12 points and 6 assists and Luke Fischer contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds in defeat.

Evans and Eulis Baez drained back-to-back three-pointers to help the visitors to a 6-12 lead, but the introduction of Papapetrou off the bench fueled a 15-2 Panathinaikos charge to lead 21-14 after 10 minutes. Lekavicius and Thomas split the points in an 8-0 run that gave the hosts their first double-digit lead, 29-19. Despite some nice plays from Albert Oliver for Gran Canaria, Panathinaikos stretched the lead to 16 on a Pappas triple and the margin settled at 50-36 at halftime. Little changed in the third quarter as the Greens cruised and upped the difference to 74-55 entering the fourth. Lekavicius took the Panathinaikos cushion into the 20s with a three-point play to start the final quarter and, despite the red-hot shooting of Eriksson, the visitors were unable to mount a serious threat the rest of the way.

Game-changing run

With the visitors off to a promising 6-12 start five minutes into the game, Panathinaikos needed a spark. Enter Ioannis Papapetrou. Over the ensuing four-plus minutes, he keyed a 15-2 charge by making a basket, a triple and 2 free throws – all without a miss – plus 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. He posted a performance index rating of 15 in that stretch alone. And after Papapetrou set the tone, Panathinaikos never looked back.

Second-unit stars

Papapetrou was not alone in dominating off the bench. In fact, the Greens had four scorers in double figures who did not start. The reserves accounted for 65 points, which was nearly double the starters' 37 points! Even though the Gran Canaria second unit collected 42 points, it paled in comparison to Panathinaikos's mighty reserves.

Did you know?

The 102 points Panathinaikos scored was the most the Greens amassed in a non-overtime game in the last decade. The club record is 123 points against Chorale Roanne in November 2007.

Next game

Panathinaikos remains home next week to take on another team in green, Lithuanian champion Zalgiris Kaunas, on Friday, while Gran Canaria faces a stiff challenge at home against undefeated CSKA Moscow.

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

"For sure we have a lot of things to improve, but we more or less played 30 good minutes in a row defensively and offensively. This is why we controlled the game and why we won this important game for us."

MALDONADO, SALVA

Herbalife Gran Canaria

"First of all, I want to congratulate Panathinaikos. They played very good with intensity, rhythm and they dominated the whole first half. The second was much better for us. Maybe, we were a little tired because it's the fourth game in seven days for us; we played in Istanbul, Malaga, Gran Canaria and Athens. I'm happy with my team, not with the result, because we played better in the second half."

Players

LANGFORD, KEITH

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

"Any time you can respond after a loss and get a win, it's a positive. Our goal right now is just to continue to be consistent. As long as we do that, we'll be okay. It's still early, it's October, so we took a step in the right direction today. I'm happy we won. The last time I was in the EuroLeague, I wasn't on the winning side too many times, so any win for me feels good."

PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

"Of course I'm happy. We bounced back, we played a little better. I think it's too early in the EuroLeague for everybody to criticize the team. We have to continue to play our best. We forgot the game in Bayern and we tried to play better today and we got the win. [Having a short memory] is the key. Even winning and losing that's the key. You have to overcome losses and not get so happy with wins and continue to fight because every game is difficult and every game is different."

HANNAH, CLEVIN

Herbalife Gran Canaria

"They are a really good team with a lot of talent. We had some good moments, so now we can just build on this game to get better for the next one."